We can only change ourselves

hi Dad, it has been a good week. we don't have much to update on the status of 'gators, but there was some cool stuff that happened. S is finally feeling better, so we have a chapel tour with him on Wednesday. we plan to put him on date for baptism at that time. most of the other 'gators are not really meeting with us because of their schedules, or they are "eternigators" that we don't see too often. we had an appointment with one named M yesterday, but that fell through. 

the missionary department came out with a new training that was given to mission presidents, and they shared some statistics with us. out of a room of 300 general authorities, 28 were converts when they were over 30 years old, and 144 of them were baptized in between the ages of 9-25. because of that, they want all the missionaries really focusing on youth and young adults. so this past week we had been visiting the young men in the ward and getting them in on some activities we want to do to invite their friends out. i am really excited for it, i really think it will help us in this area. we have a lot of young men that are strait-up studs.  

other than that, we don't have much to write about. hahah that sounds like you had a "Fun" time with that meeting, that's too bad you had so little time to share your info. that's too bad USU is not playing very well right now, but it's still super cool that Sam is getting playing time on first string. 

the weather here has been really warm, like in the 50-60 degree range--it was in the 60's the other day. it's really strange, this is when Ohio winters are supposed to hit the hardest, just before they end. hopefully the flooding around Logan doesn't get too bad. so is Jake staying in the same place for next year? sounds like i will have a good ward. 

i used to have a really hard time comparing myself to others. i was really thankful for some things that happened to help my comp with this, he struggles with it. i had an interview with Pres. Welch on Friday, we talked about how i had learned a lot about this recently (past 6 months) and i am so grateful to have learned this lesson. we can only change ourselves and make ourselves better, so why spend so much time worrying about what others are doing? we just have to do our best, and the Lord will help with all the rest and make our best enough. i love how a mission gives us time to make our weaknesses into strengths. i don't have to worry about being the same person when i get home as i was when i left--the Lord will make me a changed person if i simply rely on Him and do what He says. we all can experience this. the atonement is a great blessing we have. 

thank you Dad for all you do! i hope you have a fantastic week! love you!

-Elder  Sedlacek

hey Mom! it was a good week. we did not have anyone come to church this week, sadly, and we are doing a lot of finding still hahaha. i wrote to Dad about our new plan to get some more referrals, and about the rest of the 'gators. we did not get to teach a lot of people this week. the one lesson that stands out to me was when we contacted a part member family and met the husband. the wife (a member) was not home, so we just asked to sit down and had a good lesson and chat with him. maybe it will go somewhere soon. i hoped you liked ------ calling you hahaha, he is funny haha. 

thank you for the pics! transfers are next week, so we will know this Saturday what happens. some cool things happened this week. today we drove to Western Hills (to the mission office) to get Elder Payne's tooth fixed at a dentist, and then we stopped in to the mission office and said hello to guess who? Elder Holman! we talked a lot. we are great friends. in talking with him, i did learn a lot about my purpose as a missionary, i mean my personal purpose, it was awesome. i realized a trend in my areas and comps, it was cool. i've been told that a lot of my old companions have really loved serving with me supposedly, so that's good. and humbling! haha

i have really strenghthened my testimony this week, concerning the restoration, since we have been teaching it so much! haha i love the principles that were restored by Joseph Smith. this gospel is such a blessing to the whole world. 

another thing that happened--so yes, less actives do teach missionaries a thing or two, and yes, it does happen by the spirit. we visited a less active while my companion was having a hard day, and the less active member strait-up talked about everything my comp was going through and how to get through it, without even knowing. it was awesome! 

yay! i am excited to live by my good friend Brigham next year! that will be fun to live so close to my siblings and be in Logan hahaha.  that is funny about Dad having to  dance with you hahaha. he hates it just as much as i do hahaha. that is fun you got to go to the temple night, i bet that was nice. it is crazy that Carli is coming home already! it's weird to see all the sisters i came out with going home. 

it's true, we are too hard on ourselves, and not positive enough. we have to expect blessings from the Lord, and expect to become better people. if we only focus on what's wrong, in a not-constructive, "i am going to fix this" sort of way, we will only hurt and tear ourselves down, and prevent ourselves from becoming who God wants us to be. i had to learn this while i have been on my mission, we can't be beating ourselves up, it only makes things worse. every day we step out of the apartment, is a step of faith, and if we don't expect things to happen, they won't. expect the best and God will make things happen, as we do our best and work hard to make those expectations become a reality. 

that's about it for the week! haha i don't think i need anything as of yet, maybe some more pants soon, the Dickies i came out with are wearing out. 

well, i have to go now Mom, thanks for emailing me, i love you so much! have a great week mom!

Love,

Elder Sedlacek

I am grateful for the challenges I have had

Caught a mole in our apartment!

Emails from January 30, 2017

hi Dad, it has been a good week. first off, thank you so much for the note about Dukie, i got it Saturday night, and i was pretty sad for a bit, but luckily i had just got back from an exchange. it was already time to come in and get ready for bed, so i was able to not have to think about anything for a while hahaha. Dukie is probably following me around in spirit like a creep as he used to do hahahaha.

we had a world wide meeting brodcast as missionaries where they pretty much got live video footage of the missionary council's board meeting. it was sweet, and i learned a lot about the Doctrine of Christ. they changed the missionary daily schedule and key indicators! we only count the number of baptisms, people on date, at church, and new investigators. i love it, it takes away the stress of everything else. now we have more freedom to change the order of how we do things in the morning, so we could excercise last if we wanted. i don't want to exercise last cause i am so used to the old schedule and it makes me feel jack hahaha.  we now plan our days the morning of, so if we wanted we could go to bed right at 9 pm when we get home, i love that hahahaha! and now our p-days are two hours longer and start at 8 am instead of 10 am.

we got a whole lot of referrals this week, and some new potential investigators to teach. i went on an exchange with Elder Nielsen's "son," {the Elder Nielsen i was with in Cincy}, so i  got to be a trainer for the day in our area. that was fun. i don't want to train at all anymore though hahaha. we started teaching a recent convert's dad, and he is doing awesome. he read a few chapters out of the Book of Mormon by the second lesson, and we have a chapel tour set up with him. i am so stoked. while i was on another exchange after a zone conf, in my zone leader's area, Miamisburg, we taught a few really cool people in that area, and i learned a lot. plus that zone leader is elder Schott, he is one of my favorite elders in the mission. we served in the same ward in Englewood, so that was fun.

we are doing really good now with referrals, we suddenly have started getting a bunch from members. the Lord is placing people in our path! it is amazing. and we are about to start teaching another part member family, that will invite us over as soon as his work slows down. he could be baptized any day now, things are looking up.

my blood sugars have been so much better this week, i know your prayers have helped me so much, thank you! that is good you got to see that promotion come, and that you were able to see Duke one last time, i bet that was a good tender mercy. hahaha i wish i could eat like Mia, she is an empty hole hahahaha. 

that is one of my fave talks from conf. faith really is a principle of power. in missionary work, we just have to rely on faith and "get out the way!" hahaha as they say in the hood. i have really learned that this transfer, we literally have nothing to worry about, God is in charge, and He knows where the his children are. if we just rely on what the spirit is telling us to do in faith then he will provide the miracles. Pres Welch was talking to us on Friday, and he said that success is given. if you notice in the scriptures, it always says, "i will give... you success". we literally just do our best and He will give us success. He will give us the grace to work miracles and to see miracles. i am so grateful for the time i have to be on a mission, to learn what the Spirit feels like and to really learn how to talk to God. i love this gospel so much, and i am so grateful for the ability to repent and become better. i know all of you can feel the same way, embrace the gospel. thank you Dad for all you do, i always thank you, and i won't not do it hahaha it means so much the work you put in for our family and to have me be out here. i hope you have a great day Dad, i love you! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! i have had a great week, even with Dukie's death.  i still can't believe it though, when i read your letter, i was like "OH MY GOSH! are you kidding me?!?"  Dukie was so healthy, he is like one of those sprinters that just dies cause they had too much energy or something. he sure was a great dog, and very disobedient at times haha, but he was still my best friend when I didn't have one. he will be missed, but that is ok, we will see him again along with Lady and the other dogs.

well that aside, i had a great week. the members here are awesome, they love to send pics, so i hope you enjoyed them. can you send me that one? Elder Nieman is Elder Nielsen's trainee, so that was fun, he is going to be a great missionary. he is definitely further along then i was when i was at his point. i wrote about all the people we are teaching to Dad. i went on another exchange with Elder Schott, he is an old mission buddy, and is my zone leader. i went to his area, we got a lot of cool teaching in, and man he has changed a lot. we went on an exchange a year ago, and he says i have changed a lot too, so that was nice to hear.

we did get a lot of referrals this week, and that is so nice, we may not find them oursleves, but that is not to say that God isn't working on it for us, which He is! as soon as we get more available miles on our car, we will drive out to see them all. it is so exciting. it is a real testimony to me that God is in the details of everything. me and Elder Neimann found a bunch of people on Tuesday and set up some appointments with them. i found that the people we planned to see that day, we did shift around a bit to fit our travel, but it was really cool, cause two of the people we planned to see, we found them out walking the streets! it showed me that God will always place people in our path, as long as we get out of the way and follow the spirit. it's not about us.

i have definitely felt everyone's prayers, thank you so much! my blood sugars have been a lot better lately, prayer works! i will look at my insulin to carb ratios, i think that would help with some of my meals, thanks for reminding me Mom! Elder Payne gave me a blessing of counsel, and it said to pretty much be patient, they will get back under control in the Lord's timing, which was interesting hahaha.

that is good about Mia's surgery going well, that sounds like a video i will have to see hahaha. i am glad Dukie passed quickly, and not painfully. if he had gotten much older, it would have been painful to watch, more so then just hearing about it in a letter so i am grateful for that.  that is cool that Anna is going out, she will make a great missionary with having an understanding like that already, it will push her through learning a language.

i have heard that song {One by One}, it is very good. it is true that we do stand in the Savior's place, helping people one by one, and it works the best that way. we are all God's children and we all have a hierarchy of needs and wants, and the most basic is to be loved, and to feel God's love. that is the most basic doctrine the restored gospel teaches, that first and foremost we are all beloved children of heavenly parents, who love and care for us, and are waiting for our return.

i am grateful for the challenges that i have had, that teach me that if nothing else, i have a Heavenly Father. He will not do anything that will harm me spiritually. he will only allow things to happen that will help me learn what I need to learn. i am so grateful to be able to declare the restored gospel and to help others repent. everyone needs the joy of repentance and change. i am here to help them feel that, and that is made possible through faith in the Jesus Christ--it is only through Him.

thank you Mom for the package you sent, and all that you do!

well i have to go now, thank you Mom for everything! i love you all so much! have a great week! tatlk you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

LONG LIVE DUKIE!

 

Can you pray for my diabetes?

hi Dad, it's been a good week. we got a lot done, but we were sad to see our key indicators for the week, because they were not as good as they could be. we have not been able to teach the referrals from last week, so we did not really have any people to teach. our  teaching pool is still dry and so we are still working on finding. as for less actives, our bishop wanted us to start working the less active list. he has a list of people for us to teach regularly, so we did work that. 

a fun thing that happened was we won a bet with Pres.Welch, so he had to take us to lunch hahaha. he took us to Olive Garden on Tuesday, and it was exactly like going to lunch with your CEO hahaha. it was fun, and he gave us a lot of tips. that was awesome to be able to do that, so we have been implementing a lot of his tips that were specific to the area, and so far they are working. they really helped with a meeting we had this week. 

sorry to say, i don't have much else to really write about with the status of teaching, but hey, we will change that hahaha. it sounds like the Murdocks gave good talks. that is really cool about your home teachee, that is the best way to get involved with peoples' lives--service. one day in Noblesville we stopped and helped this elderly lady rake up her leaves, and she was so appreciative. she did not accept a message, but that is okay--we made a good impression for the church. i love getting to serve others. it is good you at least got to enjoy the visits being made. it also sounds like you got some more good service in with more snow removal. that is fun, i miss that! hahaha 

the weather here has been 60 degrees most of the week, but it's only an Indian summer--next week it gets cold again. that is crazy you have to get a passport, but it will be fun to see where you will get to travel to. you could go someplace crazy! just watch out, you might get fed lambs eyes! hahahaha 

i can't believe the Super Bowl is so close hahaha, that is crazy. and it's even crazier the deal that guy got on those Corvettes. that's insane! yep, i can't believe it actually happened, but Trump is now president hahaha. i have not heard about the protests, but i am sure there were some mad people in Cincy, they don't like him out here. 

it is so true, we too often get in a rote set of prayers, which i know how guilty of that i was before my mission. i make a conscious effort to make my prayers a real conversation with God. it is so much more fulfilling, and you can feel the spirit so much stronger. prayer is such an amazing tool we have from our Heavenly Father. He loves us and wants to bless us, but just as much, He wants to hear from us. i know that prayer is a legitimate conversation with God, and as we choose to make it that way, he will always listen to us. we just have to listen to Him. i am so grateful to be serving a mission. thank you for supporting me Dad! you're the best! i love you Dad! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it has been a good week. i am glad you got the pics from the members. can you send me those? please? i love Springboro, it's a really nice place. we don't have much of a teaching pool right now, but that's ok, it will grow. 

my comp is awesome, we get along so well. we have been working with a bunch of less actives lately to help the ward and ourselves find new people to teach. so about that story of how we came to be helping those people move: we are painting our apartment for our landlord, he is an eternigator so we are serving him, and we had planned to do it Saturday morning, but my comp felt really badly about it for some reason, so we decided to call a sister in the ward and ask if she knew anyone we could do some service for, since it was our social media split (i.e. the pictures get posted online). she directed us to a family who she had just visited a few moments before and they needed help to move cause no one was available to help that day. we volunteered our help and they had been paying a company to move their stuff, so we greatly sped up the process. it was a cool experience. 

we did not get anyone to church. i don't really need anything right now, but if you could send a Snickers that would be super cool. it's for my comp hahaha. i also do want to find a blue and white skinny tie, Sarah knows what i mean hahaha. if you find one that would be cool! 

the most challenging thing was probably not having anyone let us in, even the less actives were pretty ornery this week. we pretty much went less active hunting for the bishop and a lot of them cursed us hahaha. my comp took it pretty hard, i felt bad for him. a tender mercy that happened was as my comp was having a really hard day, a member that fed us really said a lot of nice things about the job we are doing and really reassured Elder Payne, so that was really nice. i was really thankful for that. 

the best thing that happened was a good bishop's meeting we had. he gave us an assignment as a companionship to come up with a forty day fast for the ward, and we completed it really fast, so we gained a lot of trust through that. we also got to give a bunch of blessings this week. it is really interesting how my p-blessing says i will be able to give blessings often, and to see that come to life is amazing. people always tend to ask me to do it too, it's crazy hahaha. 

sounds like you had a fun time tubing and stuff hahaha, i am glad the truck did well in the snow and got you home safe. we have been in the 50-60 degree range for like 2 weeks now. it's funny, isn't it? just when i get to a car area, the weather turns beautiful hahaha! that is a crazy story from Pres. Murdock, that is so cool. STLs are awesome! hahahaha. it is so true, that even the hardest of hearts can be receptive to the Spirit, and it will soften them. F was a stubborn man, and it was an amazing experience to see his heart be softened as he made an effort to follow the Savior. i am so glad i have the opportunity to serve the Savior and witness such miracles each and every day. i am so happy to be serving the Savior, and i am learning a lot. thank you for keeping me out here!

i might go get my eyes checked, my far sight is getting a bit worse, is that okay on our insurance? and also can you pray for my diabetes? my blood sugars have been running high, and i can't seem to get them to come down, even with basal adjustments. i am usually in the high 100's and 200's, and i don't really know what to do for it. 

well, got to go now, thanks Mom! i love you so much! i hope you have a great day! talk to you later!

Elder Sedlacek

Beating the odds

hi Dad, it has been a really good week. it was long though as most first weeks in a new area are haha. Springboro is affluent, and is a lot like West Chester and Englewood, in fact it's right next to Mason, in West Chester, so it feels like home hahaha. i love it! 

Elder Payne is a boss, he has been out for 4 1/2 months and knows a lot and teaches really well. he loves giving gospel lectures in comp study, so those are on point hahaha he is really funny too, and i am pretty sure he had fulfilled part of my setting apart blessing with the part about new missionaries. we have a full time car, a really nice Malibu, so that is nice. 

they just baptized the most solid kid ever, so we have to get a new teaching pool, which might take some time, but we have been getting some really good referrals this week. one for a guy named C, he is cool. we have a return appointment with him this evening. another referral we got was for a lady who was supposedly 39, so we show up to give her the Book of Mormon and she turns out to be 13! so i said "oh, are you _____?" and she was like, "yes", i was all "okay then..." hahaha she is pretty intent on finding the right church, although she is scared of us i think, or intimidated, so she seemed nervous about a return appointment. so we will follow up by phone soon. this ward focuses on the less actives, so we have a lot of those to work with. 

that is good you are staying busy and working hard at work and at the gym hahaha, that will really help you a lot. 

it is true, we think we can sometimes know God better by "head" knowledge, and not turn it into heart knowledge. we have to earnestly seek him through study and apply the teachings we learn to make it heart knowledge. i mean, if it's spiritual it has to deal with how we feel things, so naturally if we want to understand and know God, we have to feel him. we have to establish a prayerful relationship with Him and apply the atonement. 

Bro. A really does love the air museum! hahaha Dayton stake is the best! sounds like some good games are going on, i also heard about the Raiders pending move. that would be super cool hahaha. speaking of cars, we have a Ford dealer outside our apartment with the coolest lifted and modded F150s! i go crazy thinking about driving them hahaha. 

i think of D&C 93 with that conference talk, we have to receive our understanding and knowledge line upon line, grace for grace, just as Christ did. i know that as we seek through study, prayer, and action, we will continue to grow our knowledge of the gospel. thank you Dad! i love you Dad! i hope you have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it has been such a great week! Springboro is the best! i wrote some about the area to Dad, but it is a rich area, and has some country in it too--i really like that. the ward is super awesome and supportive, they feed us a ton! Elder Payne is from Gilbert Arizona and is a boss! this is his second area, and he had a rough time with his past companion, so he has thanked me up and down for how i am. we do work well together, and teach equally so that is really nice. 

i saw Bro Gilbert and Bro Pawlik at transfers, so that was super nice. another perk of the area is that Elder Nielsen from Cincy is my District Leader. he is awesome, so that is cool. one tender mercy was getting permission to go to the Columbus temple with another set of Elders. i learned so much and got to spend time in the Celestial room, and it put me on a spiritual high for the rest of the day! it was great! 

one cool experience, we were trying to contact a less active, and decided to "225" and so i said a prayer just silently, "i know there is someone here, and so tell me where to go," and i felt inspired to knock a certain door and a teenage kid answered the door and invited us back, so that was awesome. 

a funny story--so on Wednesday after district meeting we went out with our DL and his greenie to eat at Steak n Shake, i don't know if you have heard of the 7x7, but it's huge and i lost in "what are the odds" to eat it {meaning Elder Sed's "odds" to eat it all were "not good"}, and man that thing was hefty hahahaha. but i did eat the whole thing, and it didn't destroy me haha! 

hahaha poor Dad, got shopped to death with all the girls....did he pass out? hahahaha i will save him soon hahahaha. i do not remember J.T., but that is a really cool story.  that is a cool story from you, too. it really is when we lose ourselves in the service of others that we find ourselves and that is where the miracles are. 

one thing i am really focusing on this transfer is to not let the things i can't control that make me stress out, not bother me in the least. it has really helped me to stay positive, since i was told to when President Stuart set me apart as a missionary. i really do feel that is my example that i am supposed to set, it has helped me to really understand the purpose that God has for me a lot more. i may not be a District Leader or anything like that, and that's ok, i don't need to be. but i am sure as heck trying my best and doing everything in my power to grow my own testimony and the testimonies of the people we are teaching. this is God's work, and He will make it all possible. i know this will be a good transfer, we are gonna baptize all of Springboro! hahahaha. 

thank you Mom for all you do! i have to go now, it was great emailing as usual! i love you all so much! have a great week! love you Mom! keep being such an awesome Madre!

-Elder Sedlacek